For DC Citizens: Taxation without Representation

It's possible to be a U.S. citizen living in the United State and have no vote in Congress. Washington, D.C. is prevented, by the Constitution, from having voting Senators or a Representative.

I write this for the benefit of my non-DC area readers.

In fact, DC residents could not vote for president until after 1961. In 1973, Congress granted us the ability to elect our own mayor and city council. However, all laws are subject to the approval of Congress, who could step in at any time.

I make these points because we're going to a party tomorrow to welcome a couple who are friends of ours into the district. Today, the LTR and I put together a "Life in DC Kit" for our friends, including this bumper sticker:

You may also recognize this as similar to the DC license plate.

So, DC residents pay taxes, die in Iraq, etc., but have no vote in Congress. There was compromise legislation advanced in the last Congress that would have given our delegate in the U.S. House a vote on the floor (she can vote in committee) and added another (Republican) congressional district in Utah. That measure didn't get acted on in the final days of the last Congress -- hopefully it will move forward in the new one.

For more info, check out www.dcvote.org. If you live outside of DC, write your Congresspersons and tell them you support full Congressional voting rights for DC residents. We need some allies from other parts of the country.

If you happen to believe in marriage equality, the oversight of DC by Congress has been the chief argument against the DC city government approving same sex marriages for DC residents or recognizing the legality of same sex marriages performed in Massachusetts or Canada. DC politicos and even local gay activists argued against DC taking a positive stand on marriage equality for fear it would piss off our Congressional overlords.

Likewise, in the late 1990s, a city referendum to legalize medical marijuana that passed overwhelmingly by city voters was overturned by Congress.

If taxation without representation was wrong for the American colonies in the 1770s, it's just as wrong today in 21st century. If we can be shedding American blood to promote democracy halfway around the world, we can surely be providing it to our own citizens here at home.